Review: Rampage (2018)

If you are looking to see a fun film where you can turn off your brain for a while before the theatre's in chaos next weekend because of the release of Avengers: Infinity War, I recommend taking your family to see this at a matinee showtime.

+ Recommended - PG-13, Action, Adventure 

__________

I guess I'm recommending this movie? Look, the marketing campaign pretty much feeds (pun intended) the audience what they wanted and should have expected from the trailers; a monster/disaster movie that justifies destroying half of a city for no apparent reason.

And who better to lead a disaster movie than Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson? That's right, no one. It also helps that the supporting cast has sufficient acting chops: Naomie Harris (Skyfall, Moonlight) and Negan, oops, I mean Jeffery Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead, Watchmen) are always a pleasure to watch. Of course, they practically give Harris nothing to do and overall her character is mostly insignificant to the solution and plot of the entire film. It appears as if the writers were also confused on how to handle The Rock's character: "Should we rewrite some of the dialogue for his character?" "No, Dwayne can handle it." And I suppose he does. 

There are nonsensical portions within the movie and overall the storyline is bloated, especially with the main villains. Not to mention, the opening scene feels wildly different then the rest of the movie. All-in-all, the runtime could have been cut down in order to make a more proficient final product. At times I wondered if the film was ever going to go back to the basic plotline with which it started: the relationship between George and The Rock's character. Unsurprisingly, their bond carries the film to an average rating. With any other actor, Rampage would not have worked. And even with all the glitz and glamor of downtown Chicago being obliterated, it still seemed as if there was something missing. With nearly two hours of footage, it feels ridiculous to both be ready for the film to end and yet to continue expecting more.

However, this is still fun. If you are looking to see a fun film where you can turn off your brain for a while before the theatre's in chaos next weekend because of the release of Avengers: Infinity War,  I recommend taking your family to see this at a matinee showtime. The story is bland, but okay. The CGI is okay, with the exception of the poorly designed mega-wolf. The acting is okay, except the main villains (hard cringe). What more could you possibly expect?

Now for the real question: who's waiting on The Rock's next big film, Skyscraper? I know we are.